The present invention relates generally to agricultural combines. It relates particularly to axial-flow, rotary combines and the feeding of crop material from the combine""s header assembly to its rotary threshing assembly.
In the Ricketts et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,522, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, a combine is described wherein the rearwardmost extremity of a rotating feeder element is placed from 5 to 16 inches, and preferably about 7 inches, from the forwardmost extremity of the impeller blade or blades on a rotary threshing assembly. In the instances where a feeder assembly includes a rotary beater feeder element between the impeller blades and the rearwardmost sprocket member of a feeder conveyor, the axis of rotation of the beater is forward of the pivot axis which connects the feeder housing to the combine frame.
The afore-described arrangement was thought to provide the optimum relationship of components for highly effective crop feeding to the rotary threshing assembly. The applicant has now designed an improvement on that arrangement, however.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement in an agricultural combine.
It is another object to provide an improvement in an agricultural combine which substantially eliminates problems normally encountered in transitioning a crop material mat from feeder elements to rotor elements.
The foregoing and other objects are realized in a combine feeder assembly and rotor interface including a feeder housing having a front section and a rear section, interconnected in a pivot axis. The front section contains an elongated conveyor. The rear section contains a beater. The rearmost extremity of the beater is spaced from 5 to 16 inches and preferably about 7 inches from the forwardmost extremity of the impeller blade or blades on the front end of the rotor in the axial-flow threshing assembly.